...is a PvC Texas Hold'em poker game. Have a seat at The Inventory, an underground pub, to participate in a relaxed evening of banter and poker.

⚠ Description

For those unfamiliar with Texas Hold'Em: Each player is dealt 5 cards, after which a first round of bet occurs (the first player checks or rises the bet, then each successive players call the current bet or rises it even higher, until each player either dropped out or called the highest bet). Then, three cards are drawn on the table which you combine with your own cards to get the best 5-card hand, followed by another round of gambling. Then add another card to the table, have another round of betting, add a fifth and final card on the table, and one last round of betting. Those who haven't dropped out and called the final bet then reveal their cards to see who ended up with the best 5-card hand.

During any betting rounds, players can drop out (losing whatever money they had bet up until then), or go all-in with whatever money they have left and wait out the rest of the draw to see if they got the best hand (while other players continue to play and up the stakes among themselves). Of course, if someone drops out, he doesn't reveal his cards (keeping others guessing at what point they're unwilling to go further). If all but one player opt out, he doesn't have to reveal his cards either (again, keeping his strategy hidden and not revealing whether he was bluffing).

When you start a new game, each player buys in with $10,000 in chips. The quantity of times you won or lost is recorded, allowing you to see how well you'Ve been doing since you began. You can change the difficulty level at any time, making the AI more aggressive with its bets, bluff more often, or more prone to calling your bluffs. The longer a game goes on, the higher the initial bid and increments get, preventing you from infinitely opting out and waiting for that great initial hand.

☺ Pros

You play with a wacky group of characters pulled from gaming culture, each with a very different personality and play style, respectful of who they are in the series or games they come from. They will regularly exchange witty banter, chat and talk back to each other about their respective origins and universe, making a table filled with AI characters feel very alive. You'll quickly have a favorite competitor, and one you despise the most, based and how they interact with you or react to each move you make.

To keep you coming back to play more, there are plenty of collectibles, such as card decks and table surfaces that are unlocked as you win more games. Each of the characters also has a unique item they'll occasionally offer to buy in the game with, prize that you can collect if you're the one running them out of the game, which then can be equiped in Team Fortress 2.

☹ Cons

You don't have the option of how many characters you play with, or who you play with: you will always face the same 4 characters, sitting in the same order. The chatter can get repetitive once you've been playing for a while, and you'll eventually hear similar jokes being repeated over and over, so you must tone down the quantity of chatter enough to keep it occasional.

There are cameos from other video games, fully animated and hanging out or walking around in the pub, yet you can't interact with them in any way. The game even takes the time to give you an introduction and brief history of The Inventory, but proceeds to litterally railroad you to your seat, a missed opportunity to have funny jokes, secrets or character interactions in the pub itself.

Verdict: ★★★★☆ - "Next on your list!"

A far as poker games go, this is a very enjoyable one! Never has playing against 4 AI characters been so compelling, nor has it been so satisfying to wipe the table with some of them! If you don't like poker, you shouldn't even be reading this review. But if you do and just want a single-player experience to be fun, I strongly recommend Poker Night at the Inventory!

—————————————————————————This was just my opinion.

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Just thought I'd throw that out there. Every tournament, he's always the one I show down with at the end (seven times in a row!), and he almost always pulls off impossible wins. Example, I had a two pair with king high, Tycho had a pair. But somehow, the ...